Blacks in Saskatchewan History: Recent Immigrants, 1950 to the Present

Fonds name:

Blacks in Saskatchewan History: Recent Immigrants, 1950 to the Present

Accession number:

R-A1255 to R-A1265

Lang. of recordings:

English

IR:

Summaries of interviews

Description:

Interviews conducted in 1977 under the "Towards a New Past
Programme" of the Cultural Activities Branch of the Department of
Culture and Youth. A significant number of Blacks immigrated to
Canada and Saskatchewan in the 1950s coming mainly from the West
Indies. It is this group of people upon whom Trevor Rock focused
his study, hoping to provide a basis for comparing the
experiences, problems and impressions of these new immigrants
with those of earlier Black pioneers. The informants come from a
variety of places and backgrounds and include: a psychiatric
nurse from Trinidad taking classes for a degree in Social Work, a
nursing home orderly from Jamaica, a factory worker formerly a
library attendant and construction worker in Jamaica, an
occupational therapist from Barbados, a factory worker from
Barbados, a retired professional baseball player now a steam
engineer from Cuba, a psychiatric nursing instructor from
Barbados, a nurse from Barbados, and a certified public
accountant who immigrated from Nigeria to England and then to
Canada. Three interviews were conducted with people who have
some connection to the Maidstone colony in the North Battleford
area and the Black pioneers of the 1910 to 1920
period.
Discussion follows a basic pattern where people relate why they
decided to immigrate to Canada, the benefits they have gained by
coming to Saskatchewan, the social, economic and cultural
problems they have encountered and how they have been able to
contribute to Saskatchewan life. Most experienced a general lack
of discrimination here though there are some isolated examples of
it in hiring, finding accomodation and police protection. They
speak of the Diefenbaker government's policies regarding
immigration and the Green Paper mentioning problems which Blacks
have in immigrating to Canada. One gains an understanding of the
educational systems, job opportunities, living conditions and
family relationships in Barbardos, Cuba and Nigeria. Comparisons
are made to these aspects of Saskatchewan life. They see a need
for Blacks to associate through an organization and speak of
their social activities together. The racial relationships they
find at their jobs are described. As well, several individuals
speak of homesteading in the Maidstone colony, one person tells
how life improved in Cuba following the revolution and another
describes the system of royal heredity of the Kalabari in
Nigeria. Most informants indicate that they are happy with their
lives in Saskatchewan and appreciate the opportunities they find
here.